This bill allows a municipality to charge an individual who buys a dog as a pet from a municipal pound the cost it incurred to have the dog spayed or neutered and vaccinated up to $150. By law, an animal control officer may have a licensed veterinarian spay or neuter unclaimed healthy dogs, cats, or other animals in his or her custody after seven days, before selling or placing them as pets.

*House Amendment “A” limits the amount charged to $150.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2013

BACKGROUND

Animal Population Control Program

The law establishes a voucher system for paying veterinarians who vaccinate and sterilize impounded, quarantined, or stray dogs and cats. By law, people acquiring an unspayed or unneutered dog or cat from a pound must pay the pound $45 for a voucher to sterilize and vaccinate the animal. The law also allows pounds to redeem the voucher and have the animal sterilized and vaccinated before releasing it to the person adopting or buying it (CGS § 22-380f).